The Jury and Pleading

Abstract

This chapter concentrates on the jury and the history of pleading, which was at the heart of the common-law system. Pleading was the means of defining a factual issue which could be tried by jury. In medieval times pleadings were framed orally, and most legal argument occurred at the pre-trial stage. In the Tudor period this was turned round: pleadings were settled in writing, and legal arguments took place once the facts had been found. Special verdicts enabled more facts to be put before the judges than were in the pleadings. The change was dependent on the ‘motions in banc’, particularly the motion in arrest of judgment, and later the motion for a new trial, which worked like a modern appeal save that they took place before judgment. The effect of dispensing with civil juries is considered, and the chapter ends with an account of procedural reforms.